3-point stance: TCU takes swift action

1. In a matter of hours after Fort Worth police arrested four TCU football players for selling drugs, they became “separated from the university.” TCU’s response gets no argument from me. The swift reaction will send the message that playing football for a free education is a privilege. But I can’t help but wonder if the zero tolerance policy is a reaction to the dithering that went on at Penn State in the Jerry Sandusky case. I expect universities will be quick, open and forthright in such cases from here on out.

2. As soon as West Virginia and the Big East agreed on their divorce, the Big 12 released its 2012 schedule that included the Mountaineers. And for all of the talk that West Virginia has played against distant conference opponents before, the consecutive games at Texas (1,400 miles away) and Texas Tech (1,465 miles away) illustrate just what the Mountaineers are in for. I’d say on the way home from Lubbock, West Virginia officials are going to be thinking, “We paid $20 million to put our teams through this?”

3. The key to minimizing the effects of a stroke depends on how quickly the victim can get treatment. It sounds like North Texas head coach Dan McCarney is one of the fortunate ones. I don’t know how long-term the effects will be of the numbness McCarney suffered on his left side. But I know this: McCarney talks fast and works faster, and no one has a more upbeat attitude. My money is on him making as full a recovery as modern medicine can provide.